We took advantage of some nice weather to visit Shiobara Hot Springs, located in Nasu-Shiobara City in Tochigi Prefecture. Shiobara is famous for its many baths, which feature water with various colors ranging from white to black (see Jessica’s post from October). These can be enjoyed at the many Japanese-style inns and hotels in the area.

We arrived in Shiobara in the afternoon. The fall colors in the surrounding forest were past their peak, but were still quite beautiful.

its many : 様々の   feature: 〜を特徴とする     Japanese-style Inns: 旅館

surrounding: 周辺の   past their peak: ピークを過ぎた

Beautiful fall colors in Shiobara.

First, we stopped by a local eatery famous for its “Soup Yakisoba”. Yakisoba is usually a fried noodle dish. However at Kobaya Shokudou, they serve the yakisoba in a soup, much like ramen.

local eatery: 地元の食堂

Soup Yakisoba!

After our meal, we took a walk along the Houki River that runs through the town. The red Japanese maple leaves that had fallen along the riverbank were still bright and colorful.

runs through the town: 町を貫く      riverbank: 川岸

“Momiji” (Japanese Maple) leaves by the riverbank.

“Momiji” leaf on a a bridge. 

On our way home we decided to eat dinner in Utsunomiya City. Utsunomiya is famous for its gyoza (fried dumplings) and is in fierce competition with Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture to maintain its position as the number one city for gyoza consumption in Japan.

We ate at the Utsunomiya Gyoza Kan, situated across the street from Utsunomiya Station. The regular, garlic, extra meat, and soup-style gyoza were all excellent!

fierce competition: 激しい競争      maintain its position: 順位を維持する

gyoza consumption: 餃子の消費量

Utsunomiya Gyouza Kan (the character is Kenta)

Garlic Gyoza!